Undergarment



Aug. 30, 1932. RYFF 1,874,362

UNDERGARMENT Filed March 12, 1950 K/TI 11 44224 v nin) Patented Aug. 30, 1932 UNITED STATES OFFICE MARTA RYFF, OF BERN, SWITZERLAND, ASSIGNOR TO SWAN KNITTING WORKS RYFF & CO. LTD., 01' BERN, SWITZERLAND, A CORPORATION OF SWITZERLAND UNDEBGARMENT Application filed March 12, 1930, Serial No. 435,277, and in Switzerland October 16, 1929.

Undergarments having an elastic tubular body with a reinforced lower edge are already known. Such garments have the drawback that they are rapidly deformed by the tension of suspenders attached to them. It has already been proposed to obviate this defect by arranging on the tubular body portion strengthening strips for taking up the pull of the suspenders without impairing the elasticity of the tubular body in a transverse direction. Undergarments of this kind have proved to be quite satisfactory in normal cases. There are, however, cases in which the above mentioned reinforcing strips can not be employed, e. g. after certain operations, during pregnancy and in the case of very corpulent persons. 1 v

The present invention has for its object to remedy this defect.

According to. the invention the tubular body has above its lower edge a relatively narrow zone of weaker material, whilst the part of the tubular body located above this zone consists entirely or partly of stronger,

1 very elastic material. If desired, the whole of the said zone may taper towards the lower ed e.

ne embodiment of the invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of exam- 1'; ple in elevation in the accompanying drawis shown in the drawing, the article of clothing which may be woven or knitted, comprises a tubular body portion 1 having its lower marginal portion 2 reinforced, that is to say formed of two or three superposed layers of material. Directly above the edge portion 2 as faras a line 3, and above a line 4: as far as the upper edge of the tubular body portion the latter consists of weaker material than that between the lines 3 and 4. The part 5 between these lines 3 and 4 consists of stronger material; the strengthening may be effected by selecting a stronger thread or yarn, or by doubling the thread or yarn used for the weaker part of the tubular body. As shown in the drawing the narrow zone of weaker material situated above the marginal portion Qmay taper downwards towards the latter. Alternatively, this zone tion of the garment it can expand unimpededly in a transverse direction and therefore causes no contraction of the abdomen, and at the same time it is prevented by the reinforced part situated above it from stretching too much in the direction of length of the body portion 1. I

Boththe weaker and stronger parts of the tubular body are composed of fabrics as elastic as possible. Instead of the tubular body consisting of stronger material only between the lines 3 and 4 as in the illustrated embodiment, it may have two such stronger zones. In some cases the brassiere may be omitted. Instead thereof two crossed shoulder straps extending from the upper to the lower edge may be arranged on the rear portion of the tubular body.

I claim j A substantially straight-sided tubular garm-ent comprising a medial body portion of major length consisting of a fabric knitted of heavy thread therefore providing a bodyreducing member having a tendency to resist stretching, an upper zone consisting of light thread knitted on as a continuation of" said heavy thread and being subject to easy stretching, a reinforcement for the lower terminal of said body portion, and an interme- Moreover, the tubular i diate connecting band between said reinforcement and the lower terminal of said body portion, knitted of lighter thread and subject to easy stretching, said intermediate band separating said reinforcement from the lower terminal of the body portion and,

therefore preventing the superior contracting effect of the body portion from causing the reinforcement to exert too rent a pressure on that portion of the b y which is embraced b said reinforcement.

' lnstest-imqnymlmreoiLaifixgnygignature.

MARTA RYFF. 

